April 23, 2011

I know I forgot my last Mommy's Monday Memory, but I got the stomach virus the Friday before and have been chilling out recovering. My awesome Mom came down to help with the kids, then got sick herself, and stayed healthy enough for one day to travel home. I love you Mom!

Today we ventured on base to partake in the Easter Egg Hunt. As most of you might know, it's sponsored by MWR, which is funded by purchases made through the PX and around base. Well,...the public is invited to these events and I disagree with inviting them completely. Parents ran, shoved, and pushed their way to collect as many eggs as possible (there were additional big money prizes in some eggs), leaving us single parents trying to get our kids to an area with eggs, just to have rude children grab the eggs from under my kids feet. I will miss my friends here at good ole Ft Sill but will be glad to live someplace where the military is appreciated a bit more...wait, that's the MCCS, thanks goodness!

The only redeeming quality of the day was seeing Olivia's huge smile when she ran up to say hi to the Easter Bunny.

Justin was a bit unsure of the whole Easter Bunny situation. He never cried, just did not want to even sit next to the big Bunny. I did not force him, and he seemed cool with me trying to sit him next to the bunny but that was it. After Olivia finishes watching "The Great Mouse Detective" we'll make banana bread muffins, hard boil eggs for the hunt tomorrow and make Daddy's Welcome Home sign. Busy, busy, busy, but well worth the headache!

April 12, 2011

We've decided to postpone Olivia surgery until after we move. The surgery center here is not set up to accommodate young children. They stated I was not allowed to stay with Olivia while she was being sedated. Sedation occurs in the OR which is sterile and I'm not allowed in the OR. What kind of place doesn't accommodate scared children. The least they could do was have some oral sedative, or gas mask available in the pre-op area so parents can comfort their small children. I was just shocked and no body seemed to care. They're reaction to my frustration was just boggling, and it seemed they didn't understand why I was hesitant to send my fully awake child into a strange room with masked people to have a gas mask applied for sedation. The nerve!!

Oh wait, that's right, I live in southwest Oklahoma, the most hick place on earth! But all is not lost. I confirmed with Tricare West I can get Olivia's referral process started immediately upon moving, found a Children's Hospital and Clinic's of MN facility that accepts TriCare and new patients. Plus, after explaining my situation, the nurse at Children's just giggled, informing me that I stay with my child for mild sedation before they are taken into the OR for deeper sedation. Gotta love a place that deals with scared children on a daily basis! Plus, a nurse friend here didn't understand why I couldn't be with my child in the OR. She stated parents can be sterilized for entry into the OR, no problem!!

April 11, 2011

Justin was only 2 weeks old in this picture. As I look at him today, growing up with such a fantastic personality, and about to become a big brother, I suddenly miss the little squirt. He's just a much bigger squirt getting into way more things than Olivia, who's becoming such a wonderful little lady. I love my family!!

April 6, 2011

Our little Princess SweetPea is getting her tonsils removed next Wednesday. Nothing like waiting til the last month in town to take her into major surgery. However, she's been having trouble breathing at night and we've actually heard her stop all together. It was time!

Since she was in the NICU the first 10 days of her life due to breathing problems, and a specialist did confirm she still had Striders (don't know if I spelled that correctly) when she was just a few months old, we were concerned she had not outgrown Striders.

After switching her to a toddler pillow, her nighttime breathing seemed to get better, but I just wanted an expert opinion. Upon her examination, the ENT doctor confirmed she had Kissing Tonsils. When she is just about to fall into deep sleep at night, her throat relaxes and her tonsils drop into the back of her throat and touch. This competely blocks her airway causing her to wake up just enough to roll over. I don't know how often this happens at night but the ENT doctor said they had to come out. Apparently, they are very very large. I didn't even ask, and the doctor didn't even offer, to have to do a sleep study. That's fine with me!

So, next week, Nana's coming to help and SweetPea is going under the knife. I remember my surgery in 2nd grade to get my tonsils removed and I remember eating a lot of ice cream and having a really sore throat for about a week. I hope she can stay comfortable and I can keep enough liquids in her to keep everything moist and prevent any further discomfort.

April 4, 2011

They each sleep with their Daddy Dolls every night and Olivia even took her Daddy to the commissary. She walked with me holding on so tight to her doll. I was really busy trying to get us out of the cold cold commissary I missed everyone admiring her, but I'm sure they were saying she's super cute! Still teaching Justin not to bite down on Daddy's head like he bites down on his Cookie Monster's hands. At least these dolls are machine washable!

We are now under contract, yipee!! Buyers want to close May 3rd, so there is lots to do between now and then. And like most military moves, I'm doing this on my own. Already set up TMO to come and pack us out, and will be paying friends in beer and pizza to help me move all our stuff back to the house from the storage unit.

FYI to all my military friends, did you know that legally the moving company contracted by the government CANNOT enter a storage unit to repack its contents? That's correct, the military member is responsible for pulling all the contents out of the unit, and opening all the boxes. The packers pack stuff back up to their satisfaction, then the military member moves it all back into the unit. Repeat the process for the next howevermanydays until everything is finished. Needless to say, it's easier in the long run to move everything back here. Besides, I can at least put boxes in the house in the rooms they are supposed to be in, that way everything should be in the right spot for unpacking.

On a brighter note, the kids are really enjoying the nice weather and their time outside. The temps are finally getting warm from morning til night. And our electric bill dropped about $100 this month, again with the yipee!!